Abstract
Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 102 clinical isolates of Serratia marcescens from three medical centers were studied by using disk sensitivity and agar dilution methods. The least resistance was demonstrated against gentamicin, nalidixic acid, chloramphenicol, and sulfisoxazole, all of which inhibited more than 80% of the strains. Cephalothin was completely ineffective, and more than 90% of strains were resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline. As demonstrated by the agar dilution method, the minimal inhibitory concentration of nalidixic acid, gentamicin, tobramycin, and chloramphenicol for most strains fell within therapeutically attainable concentrations. The prevalence of resistance to ampicillin, cephalothin, and tetracycline was nearly the same at all three medical centers, whereas there appeared to be patterns characteristic for each center with regard to the other drugs used. Eleven of the isolates produced pigment and exhibited patterns similar but not identical to those of the nonpigmented strains, all 11 being resistant to between three and six drugs. Half of the strains were resistant to five or more antibiotics, indicating that some Serratia exhibit resistance to an unusually broad range of therapeutic agents.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bauer A. W., Kirby W. M., Sherris J. C., Turck M. Antibiotic susceptibility testing by a standardized single disk method. Am J Clin Pathol. 1966 Apr;45(4):493–496. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chang C. Y., Molar R. E., Tsang J. C. Lipid content of antibiotic-resistant and -sensitive strains of Serratia marcescens. Appl Microbiol. 1972 Dec;24(6):972–976. doi: 10.1128/am.24.6.972-976.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dodson W. H. Serratia marcescens septicemia. Arch Intern Med. 1968 Feb;121(2):145–150. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Edmondson E. B., Sanford J. P. The Klebsiella-Enterobacter (Aerobacter)-Serratia group. A clinical and bacteriological evaluation. Medicine (Baltimore) 1967 Jul;46(4):323–340. doi: 10.1097/00005792-196707000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Greenup P., Blazevic D. J. Antibiotic susceptibilities of Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter liquefaciens. Appl Microbiol. 1971 Sep;22(3):309–314. doi: 10.1128/am.22.3.309-314.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Miller M. A., Chang C. Y., Tsang J. C. Antibiograms and lipid contents of pigmented and nonpigmented strains of Serratia marcescens. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1973 Jul;4(1):66–68. doi: 10.1128/aac.4.1.66. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Oberhofer T. R., Hajkowski R. Evaluation of non-lactose-fermenting members of the Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia division. II. Antibiotic susceptibility. Am J Clin Pathol. 1970 Nov;54(5):726–732. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/54.5.726. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schaefler S., Winter J., Catelli A., Greene J., Toharski B. Specific distribution of R factors in Serratia marcescens strains isolated from hospital infections. Appl Microbiol. 1971 Sep;22(3):339–343. doi: 10.1128/am.22.3.339-343.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wilfert J. N., Barrett F. F., Ewing W. H., Finland M., Kass E. H. Serratia marcescens: biochemical, serological, and epidemiological characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility of strains isolated at Boston City Hospital. Appl Microbiol. 1970 Feb;19(2):345–352. doi: 10.1128/am.19.2.345-352.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Winshell E. B., Neu H. C. Relation of cell wall lipid content of Serratia marcescens to resistance to antimicrobial agents. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1974 Jul;6(1):73–75. doi: 10.1128/aac.6.1.73. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]